


Nekomata (Or, In Which Dean Winchester Finds a Strange Cat and Decides To Keep It)

by waywardFicwriter



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Baby Monster Cats, Dean's opinion on monsters has changed over the years, Gen, Gen or Pre-Slash, Kidfic, Pre-Slash, So has Sam's
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-15
Updated: 2013-09-19
Packaged: 2017-12-26 16:37:21
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,958
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/968188
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waywardFicwriter/pseuds/waywardFicwriter
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I never forgot about Amy, y'know. What I did to her, what I did to her kid." He stopped again and looked up, looking Sam in the eyes. "I couldn't leave her, Sam. All I saw when I looked at her was that kid, seeing his mom die. And then..." Dean let out a shaky breath. "I saw you. When you got stabbed in the back and died in my arms. And I saw myself, carrying you the night mom died, and I thought, what if I had died too, in the fire? Who would've looked after you? And then I heard that damn cat, begging her sisters and brothers and her mom to get up, and at that moment I didn't give a damn that she wasn't human, that she was a monster. I just...I couldn't leave her, Sammy. Couldn't do it."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I started writing this about a year ago, and it's still unfinished. In fact, it's so unfinished it consists mostly of mostly unrelated fragments. I'm gonna try to piece it together into something hopefully readable, but I'm not gonna make any promises.
> 
> It takes place sometime during season 8; they've more or less moved into the bunker, but the angel tablet mess hasn't happened and probably won't happen.
> 
> Finally, when I tagged it as pre-slash, I really do mean PRE-slash. As in, it'll take about fifteen years for Dean and Cas to get their heads outta their asses, and that's if i even get that far.

"Did you get the—" Dean shook his head as he slammed the door behind him. He shivered as he shrugged off his jacket and strode over to the bed, dripping a trail of rainwater across the floor after him.  
  
Sam frowned as he watched his brother. "Hey, you okay, man?" Dean was cradling his arms awkwardly against his chest, like he was hurt. Sam stood up from the couch so he could get a better look. "Dean, what happened? Are you hur—"  
  
The sentence shriveled up and died as Sam realized two things: that Dean was not actually injured, and that he was carrying something in his arms. That something appeared to be a wet ball of white, black and orange fur.  
  
"Dean." The older brother looked up at him. "Is that a... Is that a _cat?_ "  
  
Dean glared at him. "No, Sam, it's a fucking moose. Of course it's a cat! Now stop gawking and get me a towel," he barked out. "I'm gonna call Cas."  
  
"Cas?" Sam asked as he reappeared with two large towels. "Dean, it's a cat, not a chupacabra. I think we can handle this one on our own."  
  
Dean didn't answer as he took one of the towels with one hand, shielding the cat with the other. Carefully, he eased the shivering bundle of fur onto the towel, wrapping it up securely.  
  
Sam was about to ask again when a small sound escaped from within the towel.  
  
"Dee."  
  
Sam gaped. "Was that— Did that—" Dean just motioned for him to be quiet as he bowed his head down. "Shh, it's okay," he murmurred softly. "You're safe now. It's okay."  
  
Sam just stared at him. Was this for real? Maybe it was some sort of elaborate prank, or maybe he was asleep; he was almost expecting to wake up any second now.  
  
It didn't take long before the cat (kitten, it turned out) stopped shivering, and Dean had determined it was warm and dry. He unwrapped the kitten, who flopped out on the bed. Sam's eyebrows shot up and his eyes widened as he looked down at it.  
  
"Jesus christ," he mumbled, before recovering himself. "Dean, is that a...?"  
  
Dean grunted noncommittally and shrugged. "Hell if I know. I just... I couldn't just leave her, okay?" The kitten looked up when he said this. It — she? — blinked her large, violet eyes. "Dee," she said again, looking very proud of herself as she did. A small smile tugged at the older Winchester's lips and he stroked her head fondly. "That's right," he said to her. "I'm Dean. And this is my brother, Sam."  
  
The kitten turned her head towards Sam. She seemed to study him for a moment, before she opened her little mouth again. "'Am," she squeaked, her long tails wagging unsteadily behind her.  
  
Yeah.  
  
Tails. As in, more than one.

  
  
\---

  
  
"Nekomata," Castiel said.  
  
"Gesundheit."  
  
Sam glared at Dean. "What _I_ want to know is if it's dangerous," he said as Dean made a face at him. Castiel narrowed his eyes thoughtfully as he watched the kitten sprawled out in the middle of the bed.  
  
"Japanese _obake_ tend to be benevolent or malevolent towards humans based on individual personalities and how they are treated by others. Treat them kindly and the rewards can be astounding, but with disrespect they seek revenge in whatever way they see fit." He turned his eyes to Dean. "In the case of bake-neko and nekomata, it is often done by killing and eating their masters."  
  
Dean snorted and picked up the kitten. "Does this look like a man-eating monster to you?" He held up the cat in front of him, glaring at Castiel. The kitten purred happily and batted at Castiel with a soft, round paw. "'As," she squeaked.  
  
"That's right," Dean said. "That's an ass right there. He's also an angel."  
  
"Enjel?"  
  
"Yeah, angel. Dicks with wings."  
  
"Dicks," the cat said happily. Sam lowered his face into his hands. " _That's_ what she picks up on?"  
  
"Bake-neko and nekomata have the same level of intelligence as humans. This one appears to have the intellect of a child roughly eighteen months old, although she might develop faster than human children." The kitten was now stretched out on Dean's lap, purring loudly as he scratched her belly. Castiel watched them dubiously, but didn't say anything. If Dean wanted to keep the cat, who was he to stop him?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which I handwave Dean's allergies, and some other stuff happens (like me putting the 'kid' in kidfic).

  
"Hey, Dean."  
  
Dean didn't even look up. "What, Sammy?"  
  
"Aren't you allergic to cats?"  
  
Dean paused. "Huh." He looked down at the kitten, then back over his shoulder, at Cas. "Hey, why ain't I sneezin' my lungs out?"  
  
Castiel calmly turned another page in the magazine he was reading. "Dean's allergy is caused by Fel D1, a glycoprotein found in cat dander. The production of Fel D1 differs in different species, among other variables. Bake-neko typically produce very low amounts, which they evolved in order to avoid detection from humans. Either way, this cat should not trigger any reactions."  
  
Dean grinned and went back to rubbing the kitten's belly. "See? No problem whatsoever."  
  
  
\---  
  
  
"Dee. Dee. Dee. Dee. Dee."  
  
Sam groaned and slammed his book shut. "Dean," he growled, "make your pet shut up. It's driving me crazy."  
  
Dean glared at Sam, then crouched down in front of the calico kitten, who had been following him for at least ten minutes now.  
  
"Okay, I'm listening," he said. "What's the problem."  
  
"Deeeeeee," the cat whined. "Dee, food. Eat. Fooooood."  
  
Dean ran a hand over his jaw. "Aw man. She's hungry. Of course she's hungry. D'you think there's a pet store nearby?"  
  
Sam shrugged. "How should I know? What do hell-kittens eat, anyway? Human blood with milk?"  
  
The kitten startled at the sound of beating wings -- followed by Castiel appearing next to her -- and shot across the carpet to hide under the couch. The angel tilted his head thoughtfully. "I believe bake-neko are capable of consuming almost anything, although they prefer the venom of a certain snake that's been unknown to man for millennia."  
  
Dean stared at him incredulously. "Poison? _That's_ what these guys eat?"  
  
"Among other things, yes. They have also been known to drink oil from lamps, and preying on livestock. These creatures grow very large and very, _very_ powerful, Dean. Not to mention the fact that this," he nodded in the direction of the couch, from which under the cat was peeking out, "is no ordinary bake-neko. Usually their tails only split when certain conditions are met, and once this happens they grow tremendously in strength. This one does not appear to have met any of these conditions, meaning it must have been born like this. ...I cannot tell you how, or why."  
  
Silence filled the room for a minute, until Dean decided to get back on track.  
  
"D'you think she eats soap?"  
  
  
\---  
  
  
"So. What should we name her?"  
  
Sam resisted the urge to slam his face into the table in front of him. " _We_ are not naming that _thing_ anything. We are not gonna keep it, Dean."  
  
Dean ignored him. "Feels like she should have a human name, since she's basically a cat-shaped toddler." The calico kitten yawned and rolled over on her back. "How about Jenny?"  
  
"For a demonic cat?" Sam raised an eyebrow. "Just call it 'Tiger' or something; it's not like we're gonna keep her."  
  
"No!" In a second the kitten was back on her feet, hopping up into Dean's lap. "No no no no," she repeated, putting her front paws on his chest. "Dee! Dee, mama! Nonononono!" Her tails whipped back and forth as she stared up at him with huge, violet eyes.  
  
Dean glared at Sam. "Way to go, Sammy. It's not like she's _right here_ or anything."  
  
Sam crossed his arms defensively. "I still don't buy all of this. You go for a beer run and come back with a superpowered demonic kitten, and then decide to _keep it?_ How do we know you haven't been mind-whammed into taking it here  and this is all a trap?"  
  
Dean scoffed. "If that's the case, don't you think Cas would have noticed by now? Guy's been over like three times today before flapping off again, and he hasn't said squat. She's just a kid who lost her family, only with more fur."  
  
"That's the thing," Sam exclaimed, "she-- _it_ 's not just a kid. It's not even shaped like a human! It's an animal, Dean, and who knows what will happen if it sticks around."  
  
Dean opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a sound coming from the tiny cat  still on his lap.  
  
"Mama."  
  
It was small and quiet, almost a sob. Her ears folded back and she nuzzled into Dean's stomach, burying her little face in the fabric of his shirt. Dean's face softened in a way Sam hadn't seen in years.  
  
"Shhh," he whispered as he scooped her up in his arms. "I'm not gonna leave you, okay? Dean isn't gonna leave you. Don't listen to Sam, he's being a bitch."  
  
"Bi'ch," the tiny kitten hiccuped. Dean smiled. "Yep, that's right. Good girl."  
  
"Not girl." She looked up at him with her big, purple eyes. "Not girl. Not shapp-- shape's huma'." Then, a spark of determination appeared in her eyes.  
  
"Is try."  
  
Dean almost dropped her as she grew bigger and heavier. Clumps of fur fell to the floor and her ears and muzzle flattened against her head as they shrunk and reshaped themselves. It didn't take long until Dean was holding a naked little girl in his arms, mostly human but not quite. There were still some patches of fur left, her fingertips were slitted vertically with tiny, sharp claws peeking out -- although her tails had remained mostly unchanged exept for growing longer and thicker in order to match her new size. She grinned proudly at Dean, revealing small, sharp, _feline_ teeth. Her eyecolor had remained -- large, purple eyes looking up at him -- as had the color of her hair; soft locks brushing past her ears, clearly separated into sections of white, black, and ginger.  
  
"Dee!" the girl squealed happily, flopping into Dean's arms and hugging him tightly. Dean breathed out a small laugh and stroked her back.  
  
"See, Sammy? Just a kid. A kid with freaky shapeshifting powers, but still just a kid."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This all takes place during the same day. In case that wasn't clear.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In which Sam realizes that the tiny beast isn't going away anytime soon, and maybe learns to accept it.

"She's pretty good at talking for someone her age, isn't she?" Dean said as they were packing up what little things they had. They had just finished a case when he found Jenny, so they'd stayed at the motel a day longer than planned.  
  
Castiel was holding a smaller bag Dean had emptied out, and now Jenny -- back in kitty form -- was curled up inside, sleeping. "Unlike human children, they have the basics of spoken language programmed into their brains. The first one will be the easiest for her to learn, but she might use it as a template for learning other languages, which could be problematic considering the grammatical rules of the english language -- or rather, the lack of them."  
  
Dean snorted. "Was that a dig at the english language?"  
  
"It is very...expressive," Castiel answered, carefully setting down the bag in the backseat of the impala.  
  
"Still," Dean continued, "she's smart. Yesterday she only knew a few words, and now she's repeating everything we say. I guess she figured out humans mostly use speech to communicate, not movements and scents and stuff."  
  
The angel nodded. "Yes. She is clever for her age, and her will is strong." His lips quirked in a small smile. "Not only that, but she also possesses an astonishingly bright soul for a creature, especially one so young. There is something special about her, although I'm still not sure what, exactly." Castiel crossed his arms and frowned; an incredibly human gesture. "Perhaps we will never know."  
  
\---  
  
Later that night, Jenny decided she had to used the bathroom, so they pulled over at the side of the road. The cat jumped out of the car and into the bushes, Cas following after so she wouldn't get lost.  
  
This left Sam and Dean alone by the impala. There was a moment of uncomfortable silence, until Dean finally spoke.  
  
"Her family are all dead, y'know."  
  
Sam raised his head to look at Dean. "What?"  
  
Dean didn't meet his eyes, staring straight ahead. "Jenny. When I found her, her mom and the rest of the litter were dead. I'm guessin' some other hunters had gotten there first, or maybe it was just some sadistic sonuvabitches who managed to catch 'em unaware, I dunno. The bodies were all cut up, obvious knife marks, most of the blood washed away by the rain. The mother's tails had been cut off like some kinda trophy, and I'm willing to bet that fucker just left them there to rot. And in the middle of all this, she's lying there, curled up, soaking wet and crying for her mom. Whoever did it to them must've missed her, maybe she managed to hide, 'cause there's not a scratch on her, and she seemed so lost and confused." Dean paused and rubbed at his eyes.  
  
"I never forgot about Amy, y'know. What I did to her, what I did to her kid." He stopped again and looked up, looking Sam in the eyes. "I couldn't leave her, Sam. All I saw when I looked at her was that kid, seeing his mom die. And then..." Dean let out a shaky breath. "I saw you. When you got stabbed in the back and died in my arms. And I saw myself, carrying you the night mom died, and I thought, what if I had died too, in the fire? Who would've looked after you? And then I heard that damn cat, begging her sisters and brothers and her mom to get up, and at that moment I didn't give a damn that she wasn't human, that she was a monster. I just...I couldn't leave her, Sammy. Couldn't do it."  
  
They sat there in silence for a while, gazing up at the night sky. Eventually Sam spoke up.  
  
"So there's no changing your mind?"  
  
Dean shook his head, a small smile on his lips. "Nope."  
  
Sam sighed in defeat. "I guess this means we have to baby-proof the Men of Letters' headquarters."  
  
\---  
  
  
The moment they let the cat out of the bag (pun intended), she immediately bounded off to explore the bunker. It was all so big, and full of things Jenny had never seen before. There were so many things to climb and crawl through and sniff at and mark with her scent, it was almost overwhelming.  
  
But Jenny was a child on a mission, and at the moment that mission was 'find the highest shelf and climb it'.  
  
  
\---  
  
  
"Oh my god, what the hell do you think you're doing?!"  
  
"I'mma climbin'," Jenny announced proudly.  
  
"Yeah yeah, that's great! Now would you _please_ get down from that bookshelf? _Please_." Dean was practically begging the little girl now, as she sat curled up among the stacks of ancient tomes. She was surrounded by a small nest made of tufts of fur that had fallen off as she shifted into human form.  
  
"No," she said, yawning and stretching out, almost knocking down a priceless grimoire. "Dun' wanna. Sleepy."  
  
Dean groaned loudly, then called for Cas, asking him to get a ladder.  
  
  
\---  
  
  
Sam eyed the little girl warily. He tried to imagine her as a normal, _human_ child, but the violet eyes and multi-colored hair -- not to mention the tails and the stray patches of fur -- were just too much.  He tried thinking of Amy instead, but that didn't work either. Amy might have been a kitsune, but she had always looked and acted just like a normal human, and so had her son -- what little he had seen of him.  
  
This creature, on the other hand, felt like a mockery of the human image, nothing more than a bad disguise. Sure, it could talk, but a lot of other nasty things could do that too. Being capable of speech only showed it had the right vocal cords and a level of intelligence slightly higher than an ordinary housecat.  
  
Sam looked at the _thing_ that had managed to charm its way into his brother's barricaded heart. It was wearing a small pair of denim overalls and a red tee with some print on it. Dean had immediately made a hole in the back for it's tails, which were currently pointing straight up and out, the tips wagging a little.  
  
It was playing with some colorful wooden blocks Castiel had gotten from who-knows-where, stacking them on top of each other. The tower was leaning precariously, the little monster watching it with interest while gnawing at one of the blocks thoughtfully, leaving teeth marks all over it. Sam figured he should probably try to stop it, but he just couldn't bring himself to care. Besides, those creatures could eat anything, right?  
  
The thing looked like it had lost interest in the blocks by the time they toppled over anyway, flopping down on the carpet face down. It laid there for a couple of seconds, then started squirming and making high-pitched whining noises. Sam closed his eyes and sighed in frustration.  
  
"Okay, okay, I hear you. You're bored, right?" The cat-thing looked up at him with large violet eyes and nodded. Sam sighed again and turned on the tv, flipping though the channels.  
  
Later that evening Dean and Cas found Sam asleep on the couch with Jenny curled up in his lap, the last few minutes of Aristocats playing on the tv.  
  
Sam didn't seem to have as much of a problem with the little girl after that.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Aristocats was the only kid-friendly american cat movie I could think off, so yeah. They probably watched a bunch of other stuff too.
> 
> Also, the last scene takes place a few days after the others. Where did Dean and Cas go? I honestly have no idea, and it's probably not important. Use your imagination.
> 
> Edit: Actually, I lied. Dean went to a bar, where he stayed until he realized he wasn't in the mood, and only had gone there out of habit. Somehow he ended up at the smallest, most obscure theatre he had ever seen, where they showed late-night screenings of ancient, possibly european silent films. He ended up enjoying it far more than he ever thought he would. 
> 
> Cas was probably off healing a baby or something.


End file.
